Doctor Who axes Daleks

Doctor Who's famous Daleks have been temporarily dropped from the show, because they have defeated the Time Lord on too many occasions

Doctor Who's Daleks have been temporarily dropped.

Steven Moffat, writer of the BBC One sci-fi show, has confirmed the Time Lord's traditional arch-enemies will not be around "for a while" because they have been defeated by the titular character - who is currently played by Matt Smith - on so many occasions.

He told Radio Times magazine: "Oh yes, the Daleks. Actually, they aren't going to make an appearance for a while. Yes, we thought it was about time to give them a rest.

"There's a problem with the Daleks. They are the most famous of the Doctor's adversaries and the most frequent. Which means they are the most reliably defeatable enemies in the universe.

"They have been defeated by the Doctor about 400 times. Surely they should just see the Tardis approaching, say, 'Oh. It's him again,' and trudge away."

The latest 'Doctor Who' series has seen the Time Lord battle it out against evil enemies The Silence - who use their psychic powers to control humans - after making their debut in this season's opening episode 'The Impossible Astronaut'.

Steven has previously admitted The Silence - who were based on famous painting 'The Scream' - could be scary for children, but he insists the level of fright in the series is not too much for kids.

He added: "It is horror, but horror for children. It's scary in the way that a fairy story can be scary.

"The key is that it has to be the level of horror that a man with ridiculous hair and a bow tie can deal with."